The money for the skipper had arrived from Moscow, and the boat was fully provisioned and waiting. Andrei had been fervently praying for an escape opportunity to present itself. When they had decided to postpone the attempt yesterday, Daniel had laid no blame on Andrei. No one could have wrenched the captives from their prison. Still Andrei felt as if he had failed because this part of the rescue had rested solely on his shoulders.
He now had to find Daniel and inform him of this new, unwelcome development. Perhaps if they put their heads together once more they could come up with something. Before leaving he managed a few words with Talia behind the house as she carried out a bag of trash.
“Andrei, you can’t go directly to the hotel.”
“There isn’t time to arrange anything else. For all we know this thing may take place tonight.”
“Maybe we could overtake the guards when they move the tsar to some place of execution?” she said hopefully.
“It’s a thought,” Andrei said, trying to match her optimism. “We’ve got to think of something and quickly.”
“You will be careful.”
“Of course. Anyway, the Cheka headquaters is in the Hotel America, so there is little chance of running into any of them at the Palais.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Get a message to the tsar telling him to be prepared to fly at any given moment.”
“Oh, dear Lord,” Talia breathed, “please help us.”
Andrei wanted so much to hold her. Anything could happen now. They might never see each other again. Who could say? But he had already talked to her much too long. An embrace at this point might be fatal. So, with a mere nod, he walked away.
A half hour later he walked into the Palais Royal Hotel. He strode up to the front desk wearing his most arrogant Cheka attitude, given further credance by his intimidating size. He hardly had to say a word to the clerk to command his instant obedience.
“I am here to investigate reports of seditious activities centering in this hotel,” he growled.
“Here, comrade? You must be mistaken. We are loyal Bolsheviks.”
“Not you, fool! You have guests I must question.”
“Tell me the names. I will give you the room numbers.”
“I have the room numbers, idiot! What do you take me for? But rather than disrupt the hotel, I want to take care of this outside the hotel.”
“Thank you very much, I greatly appreciate—”
“Shut up and listen to me. The room number is two-fourteen. You will take this message there. Are they in?”
“I believe so.”
Andrei grabbed a sheet of hotel paper and a hotel envelope, then quickly scrawled the message: “Fifteen minutes, Murmsk’s Tavern. A.” He slipped it into the envelope, sealed it, and handed it to the clerk.
Andrei watched as the clerk hurried toward the stairs. He could not have been more surprised than the clerk when the object of his search appeared on the stairs.
“Ah, Mr. Sergiev, what a coincidence!” the clerk said to Daniel.
“You wish to see me?” said Daniel.
“Well . . . uh . . . well . . . um . . .” Suddenly the clerk realized the delicacy of his predicament. He glanced helplessly toward Andrei, whose eyes met with Daniel’s instead. Daniel paled, obviously understanding that there must be bad tidings if Andrei would risk coming directly to the hotel.
There now seemed no other recourse but to play out the ruse. Andrei marched up to Daniel. “I have orders to take you in for questioning, Mr. Sergiev.”
“But this is outrageous! I have done nothing!” Daniel protested.
“You will come!” Andrei grabbed Daniel’s arm, and only a fool would have resisted further, so Daniel allowed himself to be led away.
They were within three feet of the door when it burst open, and they were suddenly face-to-face with the last person either of them expected to see.
Stephan Kaminsky.
Even Andrei would never have guessed that the VIP from Moscow would be Stephan, yet it made perfect sense. Who else would Lenin assign his dirty work?
“What’s this?” said Stephan as he quickly recovered from his own surprise at the unexpected meeting. It had been a long time since he’d seen Daniel Trent, his one-time rival for the affections of Mariana, but there was no way he would not recognize him.
Andrei could think of nothing else but to keep up the ruse. “I’ve just arrested this man for acts of sedition.”
“This is rather interesting, isn’t it?” said Stephan dryly. Three other Cheka soldiers were right behind him.
Andrei sensed then that he was backed into a corner from which there was no escape, but he had to keep trying. “Haven’t I convinced you yet, Stephan, that I won’t allow anything to interfere with my duty to the revolution?”
Daniel jumped in and, glaring first at Stephan then at Andrei, exclaimed, “You can’t think I’m working with this dog! Ha! We disowned him from the family long ago.” He spat, very convincingly Andrei thought, in Andrei’s face.
“I don’t know what to think,” admitted Stephan.
Just then, the clerk decided he ought to protect his own flank. He came forward and in an ingratiating tone said to Stephan, “Commissar Kaminsky, is this man not working for you?”
“What did he tell you?” questioned Stephan.
“That he was here on Cheka business—” The clerk stopped, suddenly remembering the note still in his hand. “He gave me this to give to Sergiev.” He gave the note to Stephan, and Andrei knew it was over then.
Kaminsky ripped open the envelope, read the note, and smiled. “You will both come with me.” He drew his side arm and, backed up by his men, prodded Andrei and Daniel from the hotel.
After an hour of interrogation, they were locked up in separate cells. All hope for rescue of the tsar—by them, at least—appeared to be over. Stephan had learned nothing from Andrei, and he was certain nothing from Daniel either, though they had been interrogated separately. But Stephan had made his own assumptions. The note alone was incriminating enough for a conviction in any court. But the case was unlikely to reach the courtroom.
That evening the final blow came. Plautin, the steamboat skipper, was arrested—and he had no reason for heroism. He told Stephan everything about Daniel’s proposition. This did not necessarily implicate Andrei, but it was bad enough. And Stephan knew how to best use the information to his advantage. He brought Andrei back into the interrogation room.
“I have just received conclusive evidence that your brother-in-law was involved in a plot to rescue the Romanovs,” Stephan said. “I have in my custody the skipper of a steamer who will testify he made a deal with Trent to carry important passengers away from here.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Andrei replied. He was still trying to keep up the earlier ruse—perhaps if he could get released, something still might be accomplished. But he was getting more and more disheartened. He hated this double game and wanted to admit to it all.
“How did you learn of this plot?” Stephan demanded.
“I heard talk in a tavern.”
“Who else is involved?”
“I don’t know.”
“Come now, you must have had some conclusive proof in order to attempt an arrest?”
“I’d seen him in town and heard rumors that he was talking to suspicious people.”
“Then you rushed to arrest your own brother-in-law?” Stephan chuckled dryly. “I don’t believe you, comrade. You are, remember, the man who vomited when he watched an enemy being shot. You simply don’t have it in you to betray a member of your family. And I tell you, I am almost ready to have Trent shot as a spy.”
“Shot?” Somehow Andrei had always let himself believe Daniel, as a foreigner, would be in no such danger.
“Does that bother you, comrade?”
Andrei shook his head wearily. What good was the game? Why keep it up? They couldn’t save the tsar. And it was probably useless to try
to save himself. But there still might be a chance to spare Daniel.
“All right, Stephan, I’m going to tell you everything. It doesn’t matter anymore. We can’t save the tsar. That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it? You’re going to supervise the execution.”
“Not at all. I am here to visit my sick mother.”
Stephan smiled and Andrei knew now that Moscow didn’t plan to have any official part in the executions. However, they did want to make certain all came off in an efficient manner.
“Nevertheless,” Andrei continued, “why should any of us die for a plan that has failed? But Daniel only came here to try to stop me.”
“To stop you? You mean you are the organizer of this attempt at rescue?” Stephan shook his head incredulously. “Again, I am at a complete loss at what to believe.”
“Well, believe this: you have captured the skipper, so our plan has failed. What else do you need to know?”
“Who were your accomplices?” Andrei had hoped to avoid this question.
“Look around, Stephan. There are monarchists everywhere in this town. You can’t arrest all of them.”
“I might try.”
“You’ve got me where you’ve always wanted me, Stephan. Isn’t that enough?”
“You are wrong, Andrei. What I always wanted was to believe you to be a loyal Bolshevik.”
“I was until I saw what it was really all about. To Lenin it is more about power than freedom—”
“You are in no position to preach at me, Andrei. I am ready to have you summarily shot as a traitor. I need no trial, do you understand?”
“Then get on with it. I am not about to reveal any accomplices.”
Towering over the seated Andrei, Stephan glared down at him with a mixture of fury and disappointment on his face. Finally, in a tone that belied the emotion in his eyes, he said calmly, “I will trade your brother-in-law’s life for the names of accomplices.”
“Russia can no more afford to murder a prominent American citizen than it can afford to put bread on the table of the masses.” And for a brief moment, as he saw the truth of his words in Stephan’s eyes, Andrei felt a sense of victory. The fact that Russia could easily afford to shoot him was something he’d already accepted.
“I have pressing business to attend to,” said Stephan. “When I am done, I will deal with you and that American.”
Kaminsky called in a guard to take Andrei away. Andrei could only wonder and fear what Stephan’s “pressing business” might be.
Bruce heard about the arrests a short time later. He was amazed that he, too, had not been caught in the net. But then he had always kept a rather low profile. Apparently, Plautin, the boat skipper, had been arrested and had incriminated Daniel but, no doubt thinking Bruce nothing but an unimportant flunky, had failed to implicate him. Nevertheless, Bruce was completely powerless to do anything about his friends save make some noise at the British consulate where he was lying low until the heat of the present events cooled.
And the worst of it was that the arrests signaled the failure of their rescue plan.
Assuming the British “stiff upper lip,” Bruce tried to convince himself that there would be another day, another plan. He could not accept complete failure. He sent a message to Talia.
They met later in the deserted barn. Talia was holding up quite well, considering the danger her fiancé was in, but her face was extremely pale and her voice trembled as she spoke. Bruce convinced her to remain in the House for a few more days. He might be able to join forces with other rescue groups in town and still mount an attempt.
He also told her not to try, under any circumstances, to contact Andrei in prison. That would only place her in extreme danger. Moreover she could do more good continuing to do what she had been doing. She agreed reluctantly.
44
Talia could barely concentrate on the menial tasks in the kitchen of the Ipatiev House. Her only comfort was that she had heard no rumors of executions at the jail. Surely the guards would talk if a fellow guard had been executed.
It was the evening following the day of the arrests, and events in the House had become disturbing. Since yesterday, most of the staff had been dismissed. After dinner the cook came in wearing her coat.
“You are leaving, Alla?” Talia asked.
“I was let go. You are to finish cleaning up the dinner things, then you must leave also.”
“Are they closing the house?”
“I ask no questions. We are dismissed. That’s all I know. Perhaps I will see you at the trade union hall.”
Talia took her time washing the dishes and scrubbing the pots. Somehow she must find out more about what was happening. If they were going to move the family, it might be the only opportunity they would get for escape. She wondered if Bruce had been successful in recruiting help from the other monarchists.
A guard strode into the kitchen. “I’m hungry. Have you anything left from dinner?”
He was one of the inside guards, a brutish sort whom Talia had tried not to have much to do with. Now, however, she thought it might be prudent to be a bit more friendly.
“With the thin rations?” Talia chuckled humorously. “You are dreaming.”
“Oh, come on . . .” The guard ambled close to Talia and placed his arm around her. “There must be something.”
Talia slipped adroitly away from him but with a teasing laugh so as not to offend him. She went to the icebox and took out a covered dish.
“The cook was hoarding this pirogi, but since she has been dismissed . . .” With a friendly smile she held the dish out to the guard. “Perhaps you can do something for me in return?”
“Anything at all!” Taking the dish from her, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then sat at the table.
“I just have a question. Cook tells me I am to be let go, but I desperately need this job. Isn’t there some way I could keep it?”
“There won’t be any work here after tomorrow.” The guard took a large bite from the meat pie.
“Are they moving the Romanovs?”
“I don’t know,” he said around the mouthful of food. “I only know the house is to be closed.”
“I’d be willing to travel with them. I really need the money.”
“Bah! They have too many servants as it is. Maybe we’ll make the old woman do the cooking.”
Talia knew the guards often referred to the empress as the “old woman,” and in a derogatory manner.
“Are you sure you want her to do the cooking? I’ll bet she has never even seen the inside of the kitchen.”
“Well, there is nothing I can do for you, Talia. Take it up with Yurovsky.”
Talia knew that would be a lost cause even if she dared approach the commander. For one thing, he was such a hard character he would probably see right through her query. He could not be as easily cajoled as some of the young guards under his command.
When she finished the dishes, she left the House in search of Bruce. He was not in the hotel or in two or three other places she thought likely. She decided to return to the House. Of course, since she had been officially dismissed, she could not go into the House itself, but she found a secluded place across the street where she could watch undetected. If the royals were moved, at least she could observe the direction in which they were being taken.
Anastasia was awakened at midnight by the noise of stirring in the bed next to her. Tatiana was bent over Maria’s bed.
“Come, we must get up,” Tatiana was saying.
Maria’s reply was muffled and groggy.
“What is it?” asked Anastasia. She had not been sleeping soundly and so came more quickly awake.
“Papa came to tell us to dress quickly and pack a few belongings,” said Tatiana.
Anastasia could see Olga slipping a dress over her head at the other end of the room. “We are being rescued?” The seventeen-year-old girl could not help the hope rising in her. There had been so many disappointments, but perhaps at la
st the moment had come.
“Papa will explain. Now hurry!”
Now fully awake, Anastasia and Maria jumped out of bed.
“Mama says to wear these,” said Tatiana, handing her sisters the corsets they had been sewing for weeks now. Sewn into the fabric of the corsets, and cleverly concealed, was a fortune in precious stones. This was how they would support themselves once they were free.
Soon, fully dressed and carrying small valises, the girls hurried out into the corridor. Anastasia paused to scoop up her spaniel, Jimmy, who had remained with her throughout the captivity. Downstairs she found Papa already there holding a sleepy Alexis in his arms. Both were dressed in plain military uniforms. Mama was leaning heavily on her cane with her maid Demidova beside her clutching a pillow against her body. Anastasia knew Mama had told Demidova to guard the pillow closely because it contained a fortune in jewels. Also with the little group was the faithful Dr. Botkin, Papa’s valet Trupp, and the footman Kharitonov.
Anastasia went to her papa and put her arm around him. Nicholas bent down and kissed her forehead.
“Be brave, Stasia,” he said, then was interrupted by the appearance of that awful commander Yurovsky.
“Because the fighting is getting closer to the town,” Yurovsky said civilly enough, “I have been ordered to move you to a safer place.”
He motioned for them to follow, while other guards took up the rear and led them across a small courtyard at the back of the house to a semi-basement attached to the corner of the house. Yurovsky led them inside while the other guards remained outside.
“You will wait here until a truck arrives,” said Yurovsky.
The room was bare of furnishings and Papa asked, “Are there not even chairs for my wife and son?”
The commander poked his head out the door. In a few moments two chairs were brought and Mama and Alexis were seated. Tenderly Olga placed a pillow she had been holding behind her mother’s head. The family and their loyal servants clustered around the two chairs. Anastasia stood close to her papa. She did not understand when ten armed men entered the room.
The Russians Collection Page 265